I come from a country that is living proof that public indebtedness does not necessarily produce growth or welfare. Therefore when as an Executive Director of the World Bank I had to discuss the issue of Sustainable Debt Levels it came as a shock to me. Just the idea of someone calculating a Sustainable Debt Level with complex formulas is a scary thought, as it reminds me of a refined torturer calculating the pain tolerance for mediocre credits that might forever and ever tax one’s economy.